This is the self-titled debut EP, Amduscias, by the Japanese act to carry the same name. Amduscias did not last long past this release, though the group had a good run since their forming back in 1990 and lasting until 1998. Since then, all the members involved on the roster before this recording have moved onto other successful acts, but only the vocalist and bassist of this group, Ryuichi, has gone on to other projects, leaving the last known official line-up nowhere. This should tell you something about this release right away.

Amduscias greatly stems from the earlier second wave Black Metal style and incorporates a lot by acts like Emperor, just utilizing guitar chords to try to set the ambience instead of keyboards. The overall quality of the album is decent but a little confusing. The music presented here is greatly distorted to your traditional Black Metal sound, but the problem is that it sounds so distant in the recording against the practically crystal clear vocals, completely destroying the haunting aura the music manages to create in some instances. Aside that, you also have the music, which isn’t too bad, but nothing all that impressive. Sadly, there’s only one track on here that really seems to stick out, and that’s the starting track “The Dragon Domination”, which has some nice guitar work done to it that causes it to be on par with the level of the vocals and bring in a slight hint of melody to the whole thing.

After that, much of the release sounds rather typical with a few stand out moments. “Hell on Earth” manages to successfully create a haunting sensation through the guitar work, which really would help the song along if it weren’t for the odd recording volumes, and “Dominion of Darkness” comes off a bit bland but has some great drumming, aside the cymbol level actually being a little irritating since it greatly drowns out much of the music with the repetative taps throughout the song, and also features a great guitar solo near the end that shows off the guitarist’s abilities well. The only other track here that would have you coming back is “Sacrifices Within Me”, which really has some great bass work that seems to find the band trying to bring in more of an “epic” element to the music. For many, this song may very well be the only reason to come back to this EP in the future.

While their first and only signed release isn’t something that will make you shout joy from the mountains, Amduscias does have some solid old school Black Metal going on with this release. If you have not heard this one release, it’s worth taking the time to check out, but sample before purchasing. While this outing is far from bad, there’s just plenty of moments on this release that bland, with only the tracks “The Dragon Domination” and “Sacrifices Within Me” really being of any interest and make up the only reasons to buy this release, with the other tracks acting more as rainy day material, for those days when you exhausted your library and just want to listen to something you haven’t heard in a while.